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NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire (PMS 205)

Term Steward Status Definition
jump spot IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved Selected landing area for smokejumpers.
jump suit ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved Approved protection suit worn for smokejumping.
jurisdiction IMC Integration Management Committee, DISC Data Integration Subcommittee Approved The range or sphere of authority. Public agencies have jurisdiction at an incident related to their legal responsibilities and authority for incident mitigation. Jurisdictional authority at an incident can be political/geographical (e.g., city, county, state or federal boundary lines), or functional (e.g., police department, health department, etc.).
jurisdiction (radio frequency) Approved Jurisdiction of initial attack frequency zones in a dataset.
jurisdictional agency QMC Qualifications Management Committee, NISC NIMS Integration Subcommittee Approved The agency having responsibility either geographical or functional, related to their legal responsibilities and authorities.
jurisdictional agency category IRSC Incident Reporting Subcommittee Requested The agency category having land and resource management responsibility for a specific geographical or functional area as provided by federal, state or local law.
jurisdictional agency kind IRSC Incident Reporting Subcommittee Requested The agency kind having land and resource management responsibility for a specific geographical or functional area as provided by federal, state or local law.
jurisdictional unit IRSC Incident Reporting Subcommittee Approved The governmental entity having overall land and resource management responsibility for a specific geographical area as provided by law.
jurisdictional unit identifier IRSC Incident Reporting Subcommittee Approved Code used in interagency wildland fire to uniquely identify the governmental entity having overall land and resource management responsibility for a specific geographical area as provided by law.
jurisdictional unit name IRSC Incident Reporting Subcommittee Requested The name of the governmental entity having overall land and resource management responsibility for a specific geographical area as provided by law.
jurisdictional unit polygon GISC Geospatial Information Subcommittee Requested A polygon depicting areas of wildland fire jurisdiction to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Unit level.
Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved An estimate (0-800) of the amount of precipitation (in 100ths of inches) needed to bring the top 8 inches of soil back to saturation. A value of 0 is complete saturation of the soil, a value of 800 means 8.00 inches of precipitation would be needed for saturation. In the 1988 version of NFDRS, outputs of KBDI are used to adjust live and dead fuel loadings.
keratitis EMSC Emergency Medical Subcommittee Approved Inflammation of the cornea of the eye characterized by burning or smarting, blurring of vision, and sensitiveness to light and caused by infectious or noninfectious agents - called also corneitis.
kill switch MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved Automatic engine shut-off feature resulting from loss of oil pressure, water pressure, or vacuum.
Kind QMC Qualifications Management Committee, NISC NIMS Integration Subcommittee Approved As applied to incident resources, a class or group of items or people of the same nature or character or classified together because they have traits in common. Category sometimes referred to as subset of kind.
kindling point FASC Fire Analysis Subcommittee Approved Lowest temperature at which sustained combustion can be initiated for a specified substance.
kink MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved The bursting of a sample hose when kinked (bent over itself) and tied, then hydrostatic pressure applied.
kink pressure test MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved The testing of a sample hose when kinked (bent over itself), tied, and then pressurized.
knock down IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved To reduce the flame or heat on the more vigorously burning parts of a fire edge.
knot AMC Aviation Management Committee, IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved Nautical miles per hour, equal to 1.15 mph.
label GISC Geospatial Information Subcommittee Approved The label applied to the feature in a GIS system.
ladder fuels FASC Fire Analysis Subcommittee Approved Fuels which provide vertical continuity between strata, thereby allowing fire to carry from surface fuels into the crowns of trees or shrubs with relative ease. They help initiate and assure the continuation of crowning.
land occupancy fire FISC Fire Investigation Subcommittee Approved Fire started as a result of land occupancy for agricultural purposes, industrial establishment, construction, maintenance and use of rights-of-way, and residences, except equipment use and smoking.
land use plan FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved A set of decisions that establish management direction for land within an administrative area; an assimilation of land-use-plan-level decisions developed through the planning process regardless of the scale at which the decisions were developed.
Land/Resource Management Plan (L/RMP) FMB Fire Management Board Approved A document prepared with public participation and approved by an agency administrator that provides general guidance and direction for land and resource management activities for an administrative area. The L/RMP identifies the need for fire’s role in a particular area and for a specific benefit. The objectives in the L/RMP provide the basis for the development of fire management objectives and the fire management program in the designated area.
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